Toddler Art Class: Sandpaper + String

Soft stuff sticks to scratchy stuff---SWEEEEEET!

Art Project: Sandpaper + String
Supplies:
sandpaper
yarn
felt scraps
cotton balls (optional)
scissors (optional)

Book:
   
Follow the line / Ljungkvist, Laura

 

Music to make art by:
   
 You are my little bird [sound recording] / Mitchell, Elizabeth

 

 What Kids Do: 
--some make very precise pictures

 --some just pile it on.

 --some just like to feel the sandpaper or the yarn

 --many just looooove a chance to practice with scissors

 --(and one got really creative with his scissors and used them as a tool to pick up yarn!)

 --some grabbed crayons off the nametag table to see what coloring on sandpaper felt like (love it!)

 --and others just enjoyed putting scraps in and out of buckets and carrying buckets around.

Hindsight Tips: 
--rough grit tends to hold yarn better than fine grit, but having a variety available to experiment with is a nice idea.
--one mom was allergic to wool and since our yarn is a hodgepodge of donations, I couldn't guarantee that any of it was wool-free.  She just sat back and watched her daughter play, but if it had been the child who was allergic to wool, it would have been nice to have a better back-up plan (maybe cotton string?  or a bucket only with acrylic felt scraps?)

  
Variations to try: 

--cotton balls make lovely cloud pictures and stick well to flannel
--die-cut felt shapes if you want them to interact with this craft more like a traditional flannelboard

Adult Challenge:  Just watch.  There's no way your kid can "mess up" this project.  Just sit back and see what they come up with!  (You can help if they ask for it--like holding the string taut to make it easier to cut.)